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IRAIL 2010 – RALLYING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RAIL ENGINEERS
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Posted on:
11/03/2010 | Client Name: Transport iNet
Thursday 18th March 2010 will see rail professionals join forces with academia and industry bodies at the Roundhouse in Derby to promote the railway industry as a viable, exciting and sustainable career option for the next generation as part of innovation Rail (iRail) 2010.
Organised by East Midlands Development Agency’s Transport iNet through the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum (DDRF) and supported by the Derbyshire Economic Partnership, the iRail inaugural event will start with an early morning business breakfast networking event for senior local figures. Invited guests include East Midlands Trains, Bombardier as well as representatives from local bodies and professional institutions
Students from 12 Derby and Derbyshire schools will then participate in the iRail enterprise challenge, where they will visit either Bombardier or Derby Railway station for an insight into building trains or the inner workings of the railway. The budding engineers will be posed an engineering problem which they will have to solve using the resource and know-how of industry professionals participating on the day. Following group presentations, the two final teams will then be judged by a iRail’s panel of experts, including musical mogul and keen rail enthusiast, Pete Waterman, who will decide the outright winners to be crowned “iRail Student Enterprise Champions” for 2010.
The iRail day will come to a close with a distinguished lecture from Professor Roderick Smith, ScD, FREng from the Royal Academy of Engineering at Imperial College, a Network Rail Research Professor of Railway Engineering and Chair of the Future Railway Research Centre. A current Vice President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Professor Smith will present to an invited audience on the future of rail.
Cliff Perry from DDRF, said: “iRail is all about the local rail industry showing our young people that rail offers an exciting and well rewarded career path. Through the different activities on the day we hope to spark new relationships between employers, academics and trade bodies to encourage young engineers to see rail as a great place to use their skills.”
John Frodsham, Director of the Transport iNet, said: “We are aiming for this to become an annual fixture in the educational and industry calendar. Rail is a sustainable transport option for the future and we want to encourage the best and brightest engineers to consider rail as an exciting and interesting career choice.”
iRail 2010 is a key event in the 2010 innovation Festival (iFestival). The iFestival is the UK’s largest celebration of innovation and takes places between the 12th March and the 23rd April.
The Transport iNet, which is based at Loughborough University, is funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The aim of the iNet is to share expertise and stimulate the research and development of new products, services and processes across the five transport sectors, rail, marine, automotive, motorsport and aerospace.
For further information, visit www.eminnovation.org.uk/transport
ENDS
For further information please contact Rachael van Oudheusden at Willoughby PR on 0115 924 7132 or email rachaelv@willoughby-pr.co.uk
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